Prufrock a Collectanea

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The CriterionAn International Journal in English ISSN 0976-8165

The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock: A Postmodern Poem with aPostmodern Hero

Annesha MandalResearch Scholar

Department of Humanities & Social SciencesNational Institute of Technology, Durgapur

Durgapur, West Bengal, India&

Arindam ModakAssistant Professor of English

Department of Humanities & Social SciencesNational Institute of Technology, Durgapur

Durgapur, West Bengal, India

Abstract

The political and economic crisis of the 1930s diminishes the stature ofModernist movement and chronologically Postmodernism made its mark in differentareas of study. Postmodernism is a Janus faced ideology—partly a continuation of andpartly a deviation from Modernism. Published in 1915 in the Chicago magazine Poetry,T. S. Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” is considered as one of themasterpieces of Modernist poem. This paper sheds light on the Postmodernist featureslike intertextuality, allusion, juxtaposition, discontinuity, fragmentation, self-consciousness, ambiguity, and inability to face real world found in the poem. In a nutshell, this study establishes “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” as a Postmodern poemand its protagonist Prufrock as a postmodern hero.

Introduction

Thomas Stearns Eliot is one of the high priests of Modernism who holds anesteemed position in the history of English Literature. He was deeply influenced by theconcepts of classicism and tradition as enunciated by Babbitt and Santayana; and therebydenounced the tenets of the early modernists: attacking tradition, popularizing thefreedom of individual self-expression. He emphasizes the need for tradition in his works,rejects the possibility of freedom in art, and denies the value of self-expression ashallmarks of artistic achievements. Being one of the prominent figures of 20th century

Modernism, Eliot portrays the elements of Modernism in his poems. Published in 1915 inthe Chicago magazine Poetry “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” is regarded as oneof the masterpieces of the Modernist Movement which displays the traits of Modernism.

As a modernist artist, Eliot is innovative and experimental in nature. Heexperiments with the form and structure of the poems. In “The Love Song of J. AlfredPrufrock,” he uses the well-known formula of the objective correlative to describe themental state of Prufrock. John Hakac in his article “The Yellow Fog of “Prufrock”” givesa beautiful dramatic description of wooing and love-making between the yellow fog andthe cat to intensify and clarify the theme of Prufrock’s failure (Hakac 53-54). Eliot

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actually describes the fog in terms of a cat to express Prufrock’s psychology. Hecontemplates the action through the movement of the cat and the fog, but thecontemplation ultimately ends up in inertia and drowsiness (Jain 46). Eliot uses differentimages in his poems to express the predicament of man. It is also considered as one of thecharacteristics of Modernism. The opening lines of the poem “The Love Song of J.AlfredPrufrock” provides us with an image of a patient lying stretched upon a table underanaesthesia. This image suggests an operation of a patient. We can focus on the dilemmaof the protagonist Prufrock through this image. The image of fog reminds us of an urbanatmosphere filled with dirt, smoke, and soot. Modern civilization is complex andcomplexity comes to the forefront through the psychic state and activities of thecharacters. Not only these; other elements of Modernism which include minimalisation,distortion of forms, parody, and dislocation of grammar are found in Eliot’s poetry.

Modernism reached its zenith during 1910 to 1930. It gradually lost its formereminence because of the political and economic crisis of the 1930s. Subsequently,Postmodernism made its mark in different areas of study. Earlier norms were broken anddifferent fields of study like literature, music, film, fashion, and technology attained theirown new dimensions in the era of Postmodernism.

Characteristics of Postmodernism

Postmodern art favours certain features such as intertextuality, allusion,juxtaposition, discontinuity, fragmentation, self-consciousness, ambiguity, inability toface real world, and emphasis on de-structured de-humanized subjectivity. The conceptof Postmodernism can be explained in relation to that of a parent and child in the sensethat it is partly a continuation of and partly a departure from Modernism. Eliot, the iconicfigure of Modernism, portrays some aspects of Postmodernism in his poems. This sectiongives a detailed analysis of the above mentioned Postmodern elements in Eliot’s poem“The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”.

One of the heralding texts of Modernism as it is, “The Love Song of J. AlfredPrufrock” also exhibits the major features of Postmodernism. One of the majorcharacteristics of Postmodernism is the use of intertextuality. The term “intertextuality”was coined by Julia Kristeva. Each and every text is an intertextual adaptation of othertexts which opens up a new horizon. It is an umbrella term which includes the echoing ofa text into another. Many critics opine that “intertextuality” is considered as the newname for the literary terms like allusion and reference. It cannot be limited to either ofthose above mentioned literary terms. It includes a device like epigraph (Nasi 4-6). Eliotuses epigraph throughout the different stages of his maturity as a poet from “Prufrock” to“Four Quartets”. The poem “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” begins with anepigraph cited from Dante’s Inferno xxvii, 61-66. It is in Latin. The epigraph is aboutCount Guido da Montefeltro’s experience in the eighth chasm of Hell. In the eight chasmof Hell Dante finds those sinners who misused their wisdom to deceive others. CountGuido, one of the sinners in the eight chasm of Hell was punished for his treacherousadvice to Pope Boniface. They are imprisoned and burnt in the flames of theirconsciousness. Believing Dante as one of the damned souls of Hell, Count Guido revealshis identity to him. A sense of intense pain and torment characterizes Count Guido. Thisepigraph provides a comparison between Count Guido and Prufrock. As Count Guido


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does not want to disclose the true story to the entire world Eliot also indicates his ironicview of Prufrock’s love song. Like Count Guido, the fraudulent Prufrock is also a self-deceiving man who uses hyperboles to avoid a situation. Eliot through this epigraph triesto show the behaviour and psychic state of Prufrock, a representative of presentgeneration.

One of the prime aspects of Postmodernism is the use of allusions. Eliotforegrounds allusions in his poem “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.” He alludes toAndrew Marvell’s poem, “To His Coy Mistress.” Marvell persuades his beloved to makelove with him by emphasizing on the fact that time has its own winged chariot: “Had webut world enough and time” (qtd. in Jain 46), but Prufrock thinks that there will beenough time to make decisions. All his efforts ultimately end up in futility because of hisindecisiveness. The lines “I should have been a pair of ragged claws/ Scuttling across thefloors of silent seas” (73-74) alludes to Shakespeare’s Hamlet. It reminds us of Hamlet’swords to Polonius where he says: “for you yourself, sir, should be old as I am, if like acrab you could go backwards” (qtd. in Jain 49). This allusion suggests that Prufrock ispanic-stricken and he demeans himself by comparing himself to a worm-like crab.Prufrock, instead of confronting the situation, retreats from it. So he compares his ownactivities to the scuttling movement of a crab from the sea-shore to the silent seas.

Literary work becomes a patch work in the age of Postmodernism. Juxtapositionis one of the devices of Postmodernism. It includes pastiche, collage, montage, andcontrast between grand past and trivial present. In the poem “The Love Song of J. AlfredPrufrock” Eliot juxtaposes Prufrock and the drawing room women (who are talking aboutMichelangelo) in order to show the contrast between them. The contrast shows thatPrufrock is unable to express his feelings about his ladylove whereas the drawing roomwomen can effortlessly discuss about Michaelangelo. There is an echo of the title“Works and Days,” a poem by Hesiod (8th century BC) in “…the works and days of

hands” (29) found in the poem “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.” The Greek writerHesiod in his above-mentioned poem shows honest labour and instructions onagriculture; there lies a contrast between the two worlds—the world of the peasantsevoked by the title of the poem and the sophisticated, over-refined society in whichPrufrock lives. Eliot through the allusion in line 23 shows a contrast between Prufrockand the lover in Andrew Marvell’s poem, “To His Coy Mistress.” The lover in Marvell’spoem persuades his lady-love to make love with him; otherwise time will pounce uponthem like a predatory bird. In contrast to the lover in Marvell’s poem, Prufrock, apostmodern entity, comforts himself by thinking that there will be enough time topropose his beloved. So there lies a sharp contrast between Prufrock and the othercharacters mentioned in the poem. Every text is a mosaic of past citations. In “The LoveSong of J. Alfred Prufrock” the evidences of past citations are unravelled with a degree ofdifference. The poem is a collage—as readers can find echoes and allusions of biblicallines, Shakespearean drama, poem of Greek writers. Eliot has created “Prufrock” whocompares himself with Hamlet, John, the Baptist, and Lazarus but fails to act like them.Here lies the difference between Prufrock and the others mentioned above.

Ihab Hassan, one of the Postmodern critics sums up the characteristics ofPostmodernism either with “De” or “Di.” Discontinuity is one of them and Postmodernart favours the element of discontinuity. It involves an abrupt beginning or ending of aliterary art. “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” has a startling beginning:


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Let us go then, you and I,When the evening is spread out against the skyLike a patient etherized upon a table; (1-3)

The word “etherized” suggests the suspended state of Prufrock’s mind. The image of anetherized patient opposes the image of the intended activity to be performed by Prufrockin the first line of the poem. So there occurs a sudden transition in Prufrock’s mentalstratum which is clearly evident from the images mentioned by Eliot.

Postmodern art reflects self-consciousness in it. “The Love Song of J. AlfredPrufrock” exemplifies the above mentioned aspect of Postmodernism through theprotagonist of the poem. . The critics of “The Love Song of Prufrock” often cite thedédoublement of personality to explain the motif of self- division present in the poem.The motif of self- division engaged in the poem shows a psychic conflict between theduty and self-indulgence of art and it finally becomes the subject of Eliot (Oser 193-194).The term dédoublement can be defined as the undoubling or splitting of the self intosubject and object. It can be further referred to as splitting of the self into thinking andobserving—think and act just as “you” and “I” of the protagonist Prufrock. ThisLaforguian dédoublement used by Eliot in his poem “Prufrock” will lead to intense self-consciousness. It will collapse his will and power to think, feel and act. Self-consciousness is a split state where the person is aware of himself as well as those whoobserve him. The element of self-consciousness makes a person inactive as well asindecisive. The hero of the poem “Prufrock” is overpowered by self-consciousness whichmakes him indecisive in each and every aspect of life. The phrase “eternal footman” is anallusion taken from John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress. Christian in his course ofpilgrimage to the Eternal City was given a coat by the ministering spirit of the Lord. Hethought that the Lord would recognize his goodness as he was wearing the coat presentedby Him. Prufrock’s self-consciousness is suggested by this allusion. Eliot hasincorporated the story of John the Baptist in the poem:

Though I have seen my head (grown slightly bald) brought inupon a platter, (82)

John the Baptist was beheaded on Herod’s orders and his head was brought upon a platterbefore the assembled mass as a reward for Salome’s dance. He was decapitated as hedeclared that Herod’s marriage to Herodias, Salome’s mother was unlawful. Prufrockdraws a mock-heroic parallel between himself and John, the Baptist; he thinks that helacks the courage to disclose the truth, unlike John the Baptist; and so he says “I am noprophet…” (83).The image of beheading suggests Prufrock’s terrified self- consciousnessand split personality. Eliot alludes to Shakespeare’s Hamlet in the poem to expressPrufrock’s desire to be free from his self-consciousness. The feature of self-consciousness is revealed by Prufrock’s action of descending the stairs. He is aware ofhimself while descending the stairs and at the same time he also notices others who areobserving his action and his physical appearance. This split consciousness of Prufrockparalyses his actions and creates a great discomfort to him.

The Postmodern critics celebrate the aspect of fragmentation. In the poem “TheLove Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” we see that Prufrock has fragmented self—there lies aconflict between the social self and the inner self of Prufrock. The conflict between thetwo selves of Prufrock makes him indecisive. The readers observe that Prufrock isgreatly attracted by the fragmented parts of the female body—“the eyes,” “the arms.”


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This suggests fragmented personal identity. Eliot through his protagonist Prufrock showsthe description of only “a pair of ragged claws” (73) of the crab instead of portraying thewhole crab in the poem. It connotes the disintegrated personality of Prufrock.

Ambiguity is another feature of Postmodernism. Eliot utilizes this aspect ofPostmodernism in his poem “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”. The “overwhelmingquestion” mentioned in the poem belongs to a text where ambiguity plays a vital role.The phrase “overwhelming question” found twice in lines 10 and 93 creates an aura ofmystery from its iterations. This question remains undefined and indeterminate; it can beinterpreted as a question which concerns the meaning of Prufrock’s social life andexistence. In the poem “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” there is ambivalence in“Time to turn back and descend the stair” (39). At the top of the staircase there awaits awoman with whom Prufrock wants to meet. The image of the stairs is ambiguous as thereare various possibilities of interpretation. There may be a possibility of communicationby saving the distance between the protagonist and the awaited woman. It may also implythe effort needed to attain an ideal. Finally, Prufrock goes down the stairs as he lacks thecourage to face the woman. The last line of the poem “Till human voices wake us, andwe drown” (131) is significant as it provides an ambivalent connotation. There is animplicit fear in Prufrock’s mind regarding the marine world as mermaids traditionallydrown their lovers. Prufrock remains in a trance which gives him a temporary relief. Thewords “wake” and “drown” are used in the poem in an ambiguous sense. There is no wayof escape from the reality—either one will drown while indulging in dreams or will beawakened from dreams by human voices.

There is nothing real in the postmodern world. Inhabitants of this world are sounreal that they cannot even face the reality. They are afraid to face the reality since theyhave disintegrated self. Prufrock is shy in nature, so he cannot initiate a conversation.Like a crab which crawls back to the silent seas, Prufrock also retreats from an imminentsituation. This happens because he cannot face the reality. Eliot makes a uniquecomparison between the two selves of Prufrock in his poem “The Love Song of J. AlfredPrufrock”. The poem begins with “Let us go then, you and I” (1).It suggests theconversation between the two selves of Prufrock. He becomes happy and delighted whenone of his selves remains in a trance—his short-lived escapism from reality through themedium of a reverie of an ideal love with the mermaids gives him solace. At the sametime he becomes panic-struck, painfully tensed, and abnormal in his daily life as one ofhis selves is unable to face the hard real world.

Prufrock can be considered as a Postmodern hero as he possesses the attributes ofPostmodernism. His voice is the outcome of voices—echoes, allusions taken from thepast, other literary texts. There are echoes and allusions from Shakespeare’s TwelfthNight and Hamlet, Marvell’s “To His Coy Mistress,” Hesiod’s “Works and Days,” TheBible.

Conclusion

Like Antony in Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra, Eliot also hangs betweenModernism and Postmodernism as his poems reveal amply the features of bothModernism and Postmodernism. We can see many Postmodern traits like intertextuality,allusions, juxtaposition, discontinuity, fragmentation, self-consciousness in the poem


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“The Love Song of J.Alfred Prufrock.” The poem is marked by the crisscross ofPostmodern theories. If we analyse the poem “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”—one of the masterpieces of Modernist poetry—from the perspective of Postmodernism,we can consider it as a Postmodern poem with a Postmodern protagonist.

Works Cited:

Banerjee, Ron D.K. “The Dantean Overview: The Epigraph to “Prufrock”.” MLN 87.7(Dec.1972): 962-966. Web. 6 January 2013.

Eliot, T. S. The Complete Poems and Plays of T. S. Eliot. London: Faber and FaberLimited, 1969. Print

Eliot, T. S. “A Commentary.” Criterion 12.48 (Apr.1933): 468–73. Print.Hakac, John. “The Yellow Fog of “Prufrock”.” The Bulletin of the Rocky Mountain

Modern Language Association 26.2 (Jun.1972): 52-54. JSTOR. Web. 4 January2013.

Jain, Manju. A Critical Reading of the Selected Poems of T. S. Eliot. New Delhi: OxfordUniversity Press, 2010. Print

Nasi, Manjola. “The Mythic Method and Intertextuality in T. S. Eliot’s Poetry” EuropeanScientific Journal 8.6 (March): 1-8. Web. 9 January 2013.

Oser, Lee. “Charlotte Eliot and “The Love Song of J.Alfred Prufrock”.” ModernPhilology 94.2 (Nov.1996): 190–200. JSTOR. Web. 30 December 2012.

Schneider, Elisabeth. “Prufrock and After: The Theme of Change.” PLMA 87.5(Oct.1972): 1103-1118. JSTOR. Web. 6 January 2013.


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Prufrock a Collectanea